Our Mission
To provide services and leadership, in partnership with families, schools and communities, that improve
the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth.
Our Goals
• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success
As part of the on-going attention to building a high performance culture at Heartland AEA, the Agency Planning Council (APC) has asked the Hanover Research Group to conduct structured focus groups with agency staff. The focus group feedback will assist the Agency to refine its work on agency culture, especially in the area of Consistency, as defined by the Denison Culture Survey.
The Agency’s department and regional planning councils nominated staff members to participate in the focus group sessions, which will be held on Jan. 28 and Jan. 30 in the Johnston Regional Education Center. A representative from the Hanover group will facilitate the 1 ½ hour sessions. The feedback provided will be summarized into an agency report; individual feedback will not be identified.
We look forward to these coming sessions and the opportunity to take the next step in our on-going improvement process.
Your 2014 Form W-2 has been mailed to your home address. A help document of tips to better understand your W-2 can be found on the Intranet > Business Office > Payroll Forms & Information. This help document provides an explanation of certain boxes on your W-2.
Want to view your 2014 Form W-2 online? You can! Login to your Employee Dashboard and select the Employee Online navigation tab at the top of the page. Once in Employee Online, go to the left-hand navigation and click on “W2 Info” then on the “W2 2014” link. This will open a PDF copy of your W-2 that you can print.
The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act of 2010 (also known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare) requires employers to report on Form W-2 the cost of employer-sponsored group health insurance. Staff members who participated in the Agency’s health insurance plan at any time in calendar year 2014 will have an amount reported in box 12, letter code DD of their W-2. The required amount to be reported is the sum of employer and employee premium contributions. Please note that this is informational only and the amount reported is not taxable.
If you have any questions, contact Steve Jordan, Senior Payroll Specialist, at sjordan@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14908.
Heartland AEA is excited to announce our next financial wellness offering, Tackling Debt! Whether you are looking to pick-up a few nuggets of information, or you need a financial overhaul, this 90-minute lunch and learn workshop is just for you. You will leave knowing how to get out of debt and what to do with your money after you become debt free. You will also learn about how the credit score is figured and what it means to you.
We will be hosting this event on Jan. 28, 2015 from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m., at the Johnston Regional Education Center. It also be available live via Zoom.
If you are interested, register using the links below. Please RSVP by Jan. 26.
If you have any questions, contact Tony Chiaramonte, Human Resources Manager, at tchiaramonte@heartalandaea.org or ext. 14534.
Sign up now to get your biometric screening completed at Heartland AEA-specific sites! A Hy-Vee dietitian will provide these screenings. Please fast for a minimum of 8 hours prior to screening. The Hy-Vee dietitian will review the results of a full lipid panel, blood glucose, BMI, body fat and blood pressure. Remember if you get your biometic screening and fill out your health assessment, you’ll receive a FitBit!
A full schedule of screening locations, dates and times can be found on the Hy-Vee website. Once you’re in the Hy-Vee website, go to the drop down box and select “Heartland AEA,” and then select the location that you’d like to visit, then you can choose a date and time to reserve for your screening.
We have added a date screening date for Johnston on Jan. 20. Screenings will be held in Rooms 139, 104 and 108. If we do not have 10 people signed up for these dates, we will have to cancel them. The Johnston screenings on Jan. 21 will be in the Johnston Regional Education Center (Rooms 104, 108 and 113).
If you do not end up making an appointment, you can try to walk-in to one of the screening locations, but it is NOT guaranteed that you will receive a spot, but it is possible due to cancellations. Remember, you will need to have fasted for 8 hours prior to the screening.
And remember, you can still make your own appointment at Hy-Vee as long as there is a dietician on staff at the location you choose to visit. Be sure to call ahead to your local Hy-Vees before you schedule your screening, as walk-ins CANNOT be guaranteed.
If you have any questions, contact Katie Streff at kstreff@heartlandaea.org or Juliette Houseman at jhouseman@heartlandaea.org.
This past fall a variety of resources were shared for implementation of Chapter 62 (early literacy). Many of these resources have been pulled into a Google Drive folder for easy access. It may be helpful to bookmark the link as additional resources will be added throughout the year. Some of the resources in the folder include:
• DE Parent notification template and family partnership tools
• DE guidance documents for Early Literacy Implementation
• Q & A for Chapter 62, September 2014
• Archived Zoom session facilitated by Heartland AEA on 11/3/2014
If you have any questions, contact Martha Condon, at mcondon@heartlandaea.org or ext. 18145.
During the legislative session, the Joint Education Allowable Growth Group (IASB, UEN, AEAs, SAI, ISEA) will once again be creating weekly factoids about the need for consistent growth in the state’s annual education spending rate. These “Facts About Education Funding” will be sent to all legislators, Gov. Branstad and Dept. of Education Director Buck highlighting a pertinent fact about education spending in Iowa. Each week this link will also be shared in The Connection.
Iowa's Per Pupil Funding is Plummeting
The Gilbert Schools’ FCCLA Chapter is hosting a District Star Event at the Plex in Ames on Jan. 30. STAR Events (Students Taking Action with Recognition) are competitive events in which members are recognized for proficiency and achievement in chapter and individual projects, leadership skills and career preparation.
Events will be: Chapter Service Project, Career Investigation, Job Interview, Entrepreneurship, Focus on Children, Early Childhood Education, Teach and Train, Recycle and Redesign, Fashion Design, Sports Nutrition, Nutrition and Wellness, Food Innovations, National Programs in Action, Advocacy, Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation, Life Event Planning and Parliamentary Procedure.
Bonnie Pohl, Gilbert FCCLA advisor, is wondering if any Heartland AEA staff would be interested in being a judge for the event. If you are interested or would like more information, contact Bonnie at pohlb@gilbert.k12.ia.us.
Online communities and learning networks are helping educators create innovative solutions to age-old problems and fulfill the promise of today and tomorrow’s educational landscape. Because online learning is evolving quickly, it is especially important for online teachers to connect and collaborate.
The “28 days of OLLIE” is an excellent opportunity for online teachers to benefit from each other in exchanging ideas and experiences, as well as gain some insight into the newest innovations in online learning.
Throughout the month there will be coordinated opportunities for online teachers to connect with each other, engage in and learn from. It is our hope that at the end of this month the connections that are formed among and between the community members will extend beyond the 28 days and lead to community of online teachers that can support each other in future work.
What to Expect During 28 Days of OLLIE
28 Days of OLLIE is meant to provide online teachers with learning opportunities focused on enhancing their ability to teach in blended or online environments. The community facilitators will be hosting a variety learning opportunities or events for educators.
As a community member, you can:
- Engage content that will enhance your ability to teach in a blended or online environment (viewing resources, reading blog posts, attending live or recorded webinars).
- Participate in a Blended Learning course (renewal or graduate credit available).
- Discuss key topics such as online instructional strategies, resources for online learning, engaging the online learner, assessing the online learner and much more.
- Learn about technology tools that support blended and online learning.
- Be entered to win different “door prizes” for participating in the OLLIE Community.
Invitation to Participate
We welcome educators at all levels and those who support them to participate. The first step is join the community, which can be done in seconds at the Moodle site.
Once you’re signed up, you’ll get regular updates about:
- Webinars and other real-time events
- Forums on topics related to teaching and learning online
- Activities that you can be part of
- Resources that are available
- Badges you can earn
- And much, much more!
At our August regional meetings, all staff who serve secondary schools were asked to hold dates in February for regional meeting follow-up sessions focused on post-secondary transition. The decision has been made to cancel these February sessions. Please remove the following meeting dates from your calendar:
- Feb. 10, 2015
- Feb. 11, 2015
- Feb. 19, 2015
- Feb. 24, 2015
If you have any questions, contact your regional director.
